Patrol boats circled and officers descended by rope from a helicopter throughout a staged hostage disaster within the southern metropolis of Kaohsiung, as Taiwan’s armed forces held drills on Saturday.
The island holds frequent navy drills within the face of accelerating navy and political pressures from China, together with near-daily Chinese warplane incursions into its air protection zone.
Beijing claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to retake it sooner or later — by power if needed.
At Kaohsiung port on Saturday, the coastguard, navy, police and airborne providers simulated a hostage scenario, accompanied by action-movie music and an ongoing narration of the “attack.”
“This is (Taiwan) Coast Guard! Stop the engine instantly!” shouted the announcer. “We are going to board and examine your ship!”
Smaller patrol boats surrounded the ship while a helicopter hovered overhead.
The officers managed to “covertly” board the ship, and they opened fire — not live rounds — on the yellow-clad hostage takers.
At the end of the rehearsal, officers saluted President Tsai Ing-wen, who waved from the pier.
“Everyone who participated in right this moment’s drill are our nation’s frontline defenders. I wish to emphasise once more, we’ve got to strengthen ourselves with the intention to guarantee peace within the Taiwan Strait,” Tsai said in a short speech.
“The extra we’re united, the safer we’re; the safer Taiwan is, the safer the world can be.”
Since Tsai — who rejects that Taiwan is part of China — got here to energy in 2016, the island has seen elevated incursions by Beijing’s boats warplanes.
In April, Beijing performed three days of navy workouts simulating a blockade of the island in response to US Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembly Tsai in California.
And final August, China held 4 days of live-fire drills round Taiwan’s territorial waters — with among the workouts happening simply off the coast of Kaohsiung. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
